CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER 386: AN UNEXPECTED DELIGHT!

Ice fishing!

Since ancient times.

But the situation before us, where fish are jumping out of the water on their own, is something that, except for Yuan Bao, everyone is seeing for the first time.

This scene can be called a miracle.

Wei Wushang is someone who has seen a lot in life, and he had seen people breaking ice to fish in winter to make a living, but he had never seen fish jump out of the water on their own.

After a moment, Wei Wushang rubbed his eyes hard, but everything in front of him remained the same.

On the ice surface lay many fish, and near the ice hole, fish continued to leap out of the water.

"Jiaojiao, what’s going on here?"

In shock, Wei Qiqi ran to Yuan Bao to ask the reason.

Yuan Bao, looking bewildered, said, "Qiqi, why are you asking me? How would I know what’s happening?"

"You don’t know?"

"Then why did you tell me to wait and see?"

"Because that’s how it was when I went fishing in the river with my little uncle!"

Yuan Bao knew that this miraculous scene was actually due to her lucky charm. It’s the same reason why wild boars always deliver food to her.

But still, it’s hard to explain.

Even if she claimed that her presence made the fish jump out, how many would believe her?

"Little uncle!"

After hearing Yuan Bao’s explanation, Wei Qiqi went to inquire with Wei Wushang.

Wei Wushang and Yuan Yindi are pretty much on the same wavelength, but this wasn’t a big deal, so Yuan Yindi naturally wouldn’t mention it to him.

But soon, no one cared why the fish jumped out of the water themselves.

Yuan Bao instructed Mei Jiu and the others to boil the water, already bubbling away.

Next was to test whether the boiling water could melt through the ice layer.

For this test, Yuan Bao even specifically brought long bamboo tubes to let the boiling water flow through and impact the ice surface.

This was possible because of martial arts; otherwise, this huge iron pot, even with handles, would be impossible to lift.

Mei Jiu found two female guards, who cautiously lifted the large iron pot, pouring the boiling water into the bamboo tube, impacting the ice below.

The boiling water met the ice, and a large amount of steam rose up.

...

After a quarter of an hour, the entire pot of water was emptied, leaving a warm puddle on the ice surface.

"It should be melted through!"

Seeing the puddle on the ice, Mrs. Wei Shen thought the ice must have melted through.

"I find it doubtful!"

The Eldest Princess had a different opinion from Mrs. Wei Shen.

"You can’t see clearly from here!"

Mrs. Wei Shen looked hard but couldn’t see beneath the puddle.

"Why not poke with a stick?"

Yuan Bao raised her chubby hand nearby.

Frankly, she was very curious herself.

Normally, if there’s enough boiling water, it would melt through the ice, but how much is "enough"?

The previous pot of water was full, calculated to be over a hundred pounds.

Can that much boiling water melt through half a meter of ice? It’s hard to say.

"Yes, listen to Jiaojiao!"

Mrs. Wei Shen immediately called for a stick.

Then, personally, she stuck a stick into the puddle, probing downward.

Shortly after, Mrs. Wei Shen stopped moving.

The stick in her hand was clearly blocked.

In other words, this big pot of boiling water didn’t melt through the thick ice layer.

"Aunt, it really didn’t melt through!"

Mrs. Wei Shen smiled and spoke to the Eldest Princess.

"Boil more water, boil more water, keep boiling!"

"Also, get a few people to bring back two more big pots!"

If one big pot of water doesn’t melt through, what about two? Or three?

Mrs. Wei Shen was genuinely interested today, determined to melt through the ice.

The Eldest Princess was also quite intrigued.

While waiting for the guards to bring more pots, the group kept busy, organizing a full fish feast by the river.

Steamed, braised, grilled, soup...

The variety was possible purely due to Wei Wushang’s arrangements.

Of course, Wei Wushang’s arrangement was because his mother, the Eldest Princess, was a die-hard foodie.

As a son, naturally, he should show filial piety.

Thus, the trickledown effect!

Some things, you really wouldn’t know until you see them, and then you’re surprised.

Ordinarily, Yuan Bao often ate at the Wei Family, but seeing the skill of the many chefs around the Eldest Princess made Yuan Bao realize how her imagination was limited by poverty.

What of being a transmigrator?

No matter the era, the joy of the wealthy is truly beyond ordinary people’s imagination.

Even in later times, super-rich individuals live quite restrained lives. Due to rapid information dissemination, once their privacy is exposed, it can have significant repercussions, even causing their wealth to dive.

After all, in later times, wealthy people mostly have digital assets.

Various shares, stock values represent their wealth, but stocks rise and fall.

Currently, being wealthy means truly being wealthy.

Fields, gold and silver jewelry, luxury homes... everything is tangible.

While enjoying the cuisine, several pots of boiling water were being prepared by the river for the upcoming experiment.

...

Ultimately, the ice was melted through, consuming a total of three large pots of boiling water, over three hundred, nearly four hundred pounds worth.

This experiment was later reported in Wei Wushang’s letter, presented to Emperor Xia.

The most miraculous part was when Wei Wushang informed Wei Shifeng of this matter in a letter, Wei Shifeng surprisingly adapted it live and, by surprise attack, infiltrated Great Yin’s significant border city, Kuiwu City, in winter.

Great Yin deployed its strongest Black Armored Cavalry to reclaim Kuiwu City, hoping to annihilate Daxia’s newly formed Sharp Brave Guards.

Unexpectedly, the Sharp Brave Guards lured the Black Armored Cavalry to the boundary between Daxia and Great Yin at Canglan River.

The Canglan River was initially frozen solid, strong enough for horses to run.

But Wei Wushang had people boil water across Canglan River through the night, melting the ice layer at Canglan River.

In the cold winter, Canglan River quickly refroze, but it clearly hadn’t frozen enough for horses to run.

As a result, Great Yin’s strongest Black Armored Cavalry was nearly wiped out in this battle.

Wei Wushang, with this battle, became a legend.

The battle report returned to Qianyang City, and Emperor Xia rejoiced, appointing Wei Shifeng as Champion Marquis.

During the merit evaluation, Yuan Bao, the little girl who first suggested boiling water on the ice, was given some credit, resulting in her promotion from Jiafu Village Chief to Princess Jiafu.

It’s truly an unexpected joy!